A Lot Has Changed
by MUSIC4
Summary: This is the story of Jay Gatsby but with a few twists. Not only is he blind for his love for Daisy, there's someone in the picture he needs to care for before anyone else. A little someone at that. *Will probably stick to K. There hasn't been any language/bad content as of yet.* Different Daisy, possible future Tom bashing? Not sure yet.
1. Chapter 1

*Dear readers, though I have read the book, I'm basing it mostly off of the movie. And as far as Daisy goes, watch for A/N (author's notes) for updates. As far as the timeline goes it may be a bit sketchy because my dates might be a bit off compared to the book and the movie. I also would like to think my grammar is pretty good, so if there are mistakes please note they are not intentional... but yeah. Enjoy! J

A Lot Has Changed

It was a Friday afternoon in West Egg, the water of the bay glowing and smooth as the sun shown brightly in the sky on the hot summer day. The brilliant, looming mansion sat off the beach with the lights out, quiet, considering the last couple of months of chaotic parties that occupied the weekends. Everyone in the house was quiet as they worked. Except one.

The small patter of feet could be heard loudly echoing on the hard wooded floors through the halls in a quick manner. As the sound disappeared around a corner, another soon followed, heavier yet as light as the first. The small squeak of the glass doors were heard as the smaller set of feet quickly made it's way out of the house, down the concrete patio, and sprinting on the beach, followed by the other. Treading through the sand slowed the smaller legs greatly and just as they reached the water, they were lifted off the ground!

A shriek.

"AH! DADDY!" screamed the little girl. She was just tiny, even so as she was only 5 years old. She was a twin to her father, with dark blonde hair, which fell in soft curls down her small, golden-tanned skin, an enchanting smile and the brightest blue eyes. She began flailing her arms as her father carried her over his shoulder, playfully, along the beach. "Put me down!"

"I will do no such thing!" he cried dramatically as he spun around once, rewarded with a short scream and hysterical giggling from the girl. Seriously, he added, "You are still much too young to be swimming in the bay without me next to you, little lady; you're still learning.'

"But dad," she slowly dragged out, "I can swim just fine! And I never get to swim because you're busy or there's people here and I'm stuck in my room!"

He set her down in front of him, "Alright, little lady. How 'bout for the rest of today I spend with you, hm? We can swim in the bay and we can try out jumping off the dock. How does that sound, Scar?" he said sweetly, before tickling her with all his might as she burst out to high-pitched laughter.

"Ok, Ok! As long as you stay with me when people come tonight," she said cheekily knowing that he always attended his parties.

"We'll see, sweetheart. However you need to know that I've invited someone very special to the party tonight and I'll need to spend some time with him as well," he said with a half-hearted crooked smile.

"Who is it?"

"The man that moved into the small house next door - seems like a nice enough fellow, thought I'd introduce myself."

"Will I get to meet him, daddy?"

He gave a small smile,

"Maybe next time, little lady, when it's daylight and the crazy people are gone," he chuckled with a wink.

She laughed, "Oh alright, maybe we can have him for tea next week!"

"Well, let me meet him and we'll see where that leads us," he clapped his hands once and said, "Alright, little lady, let's go back to the house and get our bathing suits!"

Scarlett made a dash for the house but not before turning around and saying,

"Last one to the patio is a rotten egg!" He gave a small chuckle as he waited for her to get far enough until running after her. Just as he reached the house, his most trusted butler stood before him, urgently saying,

"Mr. Gatsby, sir. Chicago's on the line."


	2. Chapter 2

That night, after their day in the water, on the floating dock and a simple dinner, Gatsby escorted Scarlett to her room.

"You have a good time, little lady?" he murmured to her as he carried his daughter through the long winding halls.

With a small smile she replied, "Yes, I had lots of fun. I don't feel tired though dad, will you stay with me for a bit?"

"I'm sorry Scar, you know I can't. I'm meeting our new neighbor remember? You may stay in the library since it's right next to your room, just promise to go to bed at a reasonable hour. The guests should be arriving in," he glanced at his silver watch, "20 minutes or so," he said softly as he climbed the curved, marble staircase in the tall room.

"They won't come into my room right?" She asked fearfully, eyes slightly wider than usually.

"No, sweetheart, they know the rules of the house. No one will come up," he said reassuringly, pushing opening the tall door to the massive library and heading to her fairytale section.

The guests had arrived about 3 hours ago and it was nearing 11 o'clock at night with probably 3 or 4 more hours to go until people started to trickle out. Scarlett was sitting on a cushy chair in the library, wrapped up in a blanket when she jerked awake at the sound of a book closing loudly.

Craning her neck around the back of the chair she saw an old, white haired man, Owl Eyes she had nicknamed him, looking at her with a stack of book in his hands. "You best be getting to bed, kid. The music will only get louder and people may start to wander off, don't want to be getting in any trouble."

She nodded a bit, eyes half shut as she shuffled towards the door and putting her book, _Cinderella_, down on a table, too tired to argue with him. But just as she opened the door, she saw a man and woman down the short hallway hearing the woman faintly say, "Mr. Gatsby?" in a hushed, teasing tone.

Scarlett's eyes widened when the tall lady's head snapped in the direction of the library door and pulled the man with her. Scarlett left the door open its half inch and ran to hide around a corner, a chair, something! The white haired man looked at her questioningly, about to ask what was wrong when the door opened in one large _whoosh_.

"But you are mistaken! For I am the mysterious Mr. Gatsby!"

"You won't find him," Owl Eyes said loudly from the balcony above. "This house and everything in it are all part of an elaborate disguise. But Mr. Gatsby doesn't exist." He said as he made his way towards them.

Scarlett, with her back to them pressed against a wall, furrowed her brow in confusion as the lady said, "Phooey. I've met him."

"Really?" Owl Eyes said in mocking disbelief. "Which one? The prince? The spy? The _murderer_? I cannot find anyone that knows anything real about Mr. Gatsby."

"Well, I don't care," the woman said in a snobbish tone, "He gives large parties and I like large parties. They're so intimate. Small parties, there isn't any privacy."

"But if that's true," the man spoke for the first time, "What's all this for?"

Owl Eyes peered out the window at the party below and said, "That, my dear fellow, is the question."

Soon after, the pair wandered back downstairs and Scarlett ran for her room, locked the door only taking a moment to get in bed and fall asleep, the music dulled by her bedroom door.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N - Sorry this is a small ish chapter :/

The party was the same as always; loud, dazed and chaotic. Jay had since changed into a fine black tux with a crisp white shirt and a shining black bow tie. He was casually zigzagging through the sea of people taking in the party and, as usual, keeping to himself. It wasn't until Vladimir Tostoff, his organ player, started his firework orchestration that he spotted his neighbor Nick Carraway.

He was a handsome young man, no younger than a few years of Gatsby. He had dark brown hair parted neatly to the side with pale blue eyes. And he was quite clearly drunk.

Jay went up with a tray with one cocktail intending on giving to him when another nosy boy took it instead, his dislike for Nick was obvious.

"Your face is familiar. Weren't you in the Third Division during the war?" Gatsby asked, starting the conversation off with something he knew they had in common… he'd done his research.

Nick looked up at him with a start and said, "Oh, yes, I was in the 9th Battalion."

"I was in the 7th. I knew you looked familiar. Having a good time, old sport?"

"The whole thing's incredible." Gatsby smiled slightly as Nick continued. "I live just next door. Sent me an actual invitation seems I'm the only one. I still haven't met Mr. Gatsby. No one's met him." Nick leaned forward to Jay's ear, chuckling, "They say he's third cousin to the Kaiser and second cousin to the devil."

"I'm afraid I haven't been a good host, old sport," Gatsby said picking up a glass of champagne, turning. "You see," And a shower of fireworks exploded around him, "I'm Gatsby."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N I realize my writing is slightly rushed as far as the events play out... At least I'm not dragging it out.

The young girl shot up terrified in her bed after hearing what sounded like bombs blasting above the mansion. Even though they frequently used fireworks at parties she always managed to get quite shaken; thunderstorms were no better.

She tentatively went to her door and pulled it open, seeing no one in the hallway but still hearing the party continue. Tiptoeing out of the door, she cautiously crept to the end of the hall to the marble stairs where the party was just downstairs. She wanted her father, after being spooked she just wanted him to hold her and tell her it would be all right.

She could just barely see the people at the end of the tall room over the edge of the balcony, so she got down on her hands and knees and kept low to the ground as she peeked over the side searching for a butler that could get her father.

"Can I help you, miss?"

Scarlett gasped as she whipped her head around to see a butler standing right behind her with a small smirk on his face. Scarlett remembered that she didn't like this one too much.

"Um, y-yes. I was wondering if you could get my daddy for me. Tell him it's a call f-from Philly-phila-" she nervously stuttered as he cut he off.

"Philadelphia? Of course, miss. He will understand," he said with a sneer as he walked off. Scarlett's eyes welled up with tears as she had the feeling that he wouldn't be looking for her dad and would wait until the longest possible moment. She may be young, but she understood and acted a bit older than she was.

She moved back to the hallway and sat against the wall, waiting. And waiting. And waiting. It wasn't until she heard a crash and a car horn outside that she bolted down the long, winding stairs. Luckily everyone had been clearing out for some time and there was no one there.

As Scarlett moved quickly towards the front doors, and soon there were more and more people, but they were so confused and tired, as Scarlett understood, that they wouldn't even see her. She pushed past the sparkling gowns and carefully ran on the confetti-covered floors when she finally saw her father on the balcony speaking to someone below. Just as she was feet from him, the rude butler she didn't like grabbed her by the scruff of her nightgown and held her back as her tears fell quickly.

The butler moved forward to Gatsby's ear and murmured, "Mr. Gatsby, sir. Philadelphia is on the wire."

Gatsby's faced showed surprised as he swiftly turned to see his daughter in her nightgown, tears streaming down her face. His faced softened and quickly dismissed his conversation with Mr. Carraway. When his neighbor's attention was drawn to Ms. Baker for a moment, Gatsby took the opportunity to sneak away.

He walked over to the little girl and knelt down in front of her. "Hello, little lady. What can I do for you?" he said softly as she flung her arms around him.

He caught her and picked her up, instantly walking to the house to get her out of the public's view. She continued to silently cry in his arms as Jay brought her upstairs and to her bedroom. Laying her down, he covered her up and sat down on the edge of her bed.

He brushed the hair out from her eyes, "What happened, Scarlett?" He only used her full name when he was concerned. He was softly stroking her cheek when she explained that the explosions scared her and then she heard a crash outside.

"It's all right now, sweetheart. Everything's all right," He said as he shifted to lean against the head board as Scarlett put her head on his chest as he continued to play with her long, golden hair. "I met our new neighbor today."

"Really?" She looked up at him, excited. "What's he like?"

"Well, I didn't get to talk with him too much but he seems like a fine, young man. By the way sweetheart, I offered to take Mr. Carraway- yes, our neighbor- on our new hydroplane tomorrow morning. Thought I'd get to know him better."

"Ok," she yawned. A moment later, her breath evened out and she was asleep.

Gatsby smiled and stood slowly, carefully laying her down as he happened to glance out the window. Nick Carraway was staring at him. Gatsby froze as their eyes locked, considering the distance from the second story of his house to the edge of his property. Nick titled his head, while Gatsby nervously lifted his hand in greeting, praying that he wouldn't remember the next morning.


	5. Chapter 5

~*~*~*~*~ Two weeks pass. Jay and Nick go on the hydroplane. Nick goes to two more parties. This is noon hour the day before Gatsby asks him out to lunch~*~*~*~*~*~

Nick Carraway had often made use of Gatsby's beach, but never had he seen him there, let alone with another smaller person.

Jay and Scarlett were spending another day on the beach because the next few days were to be cloudy. The sun was shining and the bay shone bright blue while the father and daughter spent their time on the floating dock.

Nick just couldn't believe it. He thought maybe he had dreamt up what he'd seen through the window the night of that first party. But here it was, clear as day, Jay Gatsby playing with a young girl.

"C'mon, Scar, jump!" Jay shouted as he floated in the water in front of the dock, arms out wide. Scarlett was near the edge of the dock shuffling back and forth, hesitant to jump in, even though she's done it many times before.

"Can this be the last time though? I want to make a sand castle before the sun goes down."

"Sure thing, sweetheart. On three, all right?" she nodded, biting her bottom lip. "One… two… Three!"

With a shriek she jumped off the dock towards Jay's waiting arms. Chuckling, he helped her swim back to shore and they wrapped up in two waiting towels, sitting down on the sand.

"Why don't you use the sticks for decorations, old sport?" he asked as she randomly stuck two in the ground.

"Because, the sticks are me and you and the sand castle is our house!" she said, proud with her work. Gatsby smiled and continued to watch her work.

After a few minutes of sculpting sand with his daughter, Gatsby leaned back with his hands out behind him on the sand watching her move and dig with her little shovel. He titled his head towards the sun and saw a flash of a white suit out the side of his eye.

He slowly turned his head and saw Mr. Carraway standing there, eyes slightly wider and mouth a bit open. They looked at each other for several moments until Scarlett spoke up,

"What are you looking at, daddy?" she said, concerned. She looked in the direction his gaze was turned to and spotted Nick between the trees and smiled. "Ooh! Is that the neighbor? I'm going to go say hi." And took off before Jay could get a word in.

Jay was about to stop her but she was already too far away. He slowly stood and walked over to the pair and watched as she introduced herself.

"Hello, Mr. Car-way, my name is Scarlett Rose Gatsby! But you can call me Scar, my daddy does too." She gave him a large toothy smile as he looked down in shock at hearing "Gatsby" and "daddy", come out of her mouth, not even bothering to correct how she'd said his name.

Breaking out of his disbelief he kindly smiled back a knelt down to her eye level, "Nice to meet you, Scar. How old are you?" he asked.

"This many!" she said proudly holding up one hand with all her fingers up.

"Wow! Really? When is your birthday?" his grin growing every second. She was the cutest little girl he'd ever seen.

"On August 14th, then I'm going to be six!" she exclaimed holding her fingers up again. "And it's warm outside so it isn't too far away now!"

"How's your day going, old sport?" Nick stood up quickly as he saw Gatsby appear behind Scarlett, hands behind his back, and a small smile on his face but his eyes were nervous. The little girl smiled at her father and stepped back to take his hand.

"Fine, Jay. Thank you for asking. I was just going to sit on the beach when I saw you two." He told him.

"As you should, it's said to rain in a few days,"

Silence. Scarlett looked between them, as their eyes didn't quite meet. She spoke up, "I'm going back to the beach if you'd like to join Mr. Car-way." And took off to her unfinished sand castle.

Gatsby chuckled softly and crossed his arms as he watched her go. They slowly trailed after her through the sand when Nick said,

"Your daughter, I'm assuming?"

Gatsby's head tilted down a bit as he fiddled with the ring on his right pinky finger.

"Yes, old sport. I try to keep her out of the spotlight; she's too young. I trust you can hold your tongue." He said with his voice firm but still uncertain as he looked dead straight into Nick's eyes.

Nick now understood that absolutely no one knew of Jay's daughter. You very rarely see her, there's a staircase known to be off limits, which Nick assumed led to where she stayed during parties, and they never went outside too much.

"Of course, Jay. I understand." He said quietly. Looking back at Scarlett he saw she had her back to him, her slightly wet blonde hair falling out of her long braid. Unsure, Nick asked, "So, uh, where's her mother?"

Gatsby's sad eyes lifted to his and Nick felt his stomach drop.

"She passed away shortly after Scarlett was born. The birth was hard from what I've been told. She was just sick," he paused trying to gather his thoughts. "I didn't even know my daughter existed until I was contacted by an orphanage that said I was on her birth certificate written down as the father." He said turning his eyes back to Scarlett. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

After standing off to the side just watching her with Gatsby, Nick realized how much they looked alike; shocking blue eyes, dark blonde hair, golden skin tone and the same features.

"Best be getting her back inside, old sport. Photographers are always around some way or another. I'll be seeing you tomorrow, how 'bout lunch?" He gave a small smile and walked away before Nick could say anything.

Shaking his head with a grin, Mr. Carraway turned to go back to his cottage but not before returning a small wave that Scarlett sent his way.


	6. Chapter 6

Jay and Scarlett were in the library that evening, Gatsby was reading and Scarlett was sitting at a small desk reading _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_. But something had been poking through her mind for months and she finally gave in and plucked up the courage.

"Daddy?" she hesitantly asked. He looked at her and smiled, implying for her to continue. "Um, why do you, uh… why do you have so many parties? Like, what makes them special?" She didn't meet his eyes, uncertain if it was ok to ask.

Her father sighed, "Well, sweetheart, it's a bit odd to explain," he paused for a few moments to decide whether or not to continue, but eventually took a deep breath, "A long time ago, just after you were born-"

"When I lived with mum, right?"

"Yes, when you were with your mother- I was in love with a beautiful girl. And one day I had to go back to war to fight and since I got back, she got engaged to marry, you see. And I'd written after I knew, just heartbroken. And when I moved here I found out that she lived right across the bay, imagine my surprise!" he told the half-truth, but continued to keep his voice light as he spoke to make him seem a bit indifferent. "I never went over because she was a married woman and I hadn't seen her in so long. But I thought maybe she would come over if I had a party. Once you came along, you were no more than a year and a half old when I stopped the parties. But I started them again a few months ago because our guests missed them."

Scarlett was just astounded. It was for a girl? And here she'd thought maybe he was trying to meet someone, not lure one girl in.

"Why don't you send her an invitation? Maybe she can't hear the music or see the lights from across the bay. It does get foggy sometimes." She still had her head down, twirling her hair around.

Gatsby smiled, "It's not that simple sweetheart." He crossed his legs and looked back down to his book.

There was silence for a moment as Scarlett realized how sad her father looked. She quickly said,

"Why don't you send an invitation through someone else?"

He looked back up in confusion for a moment before a large grin spread across his face. He put down his book and walked over to kiss her cheek.

"What a wonderful idea, little lady. I might just do that," he said with a wink and left the library.

Scarlett watched him leave and only hoped he didn't get into trouble with this mystery girl.


	7. Chapter 7

~*~*~*~*~*~skipping forward to lunch. With Wolfshiem.~*~*~*~*~*~

"So, how is the bond business, Mr. Carraway?" Wolfshiem said politely.

Nick, confused how he knew where he worked, said, " Fine. Thank you."

"I understand you're looking for a business connection," he said quickly with a spark in his dark eyes.

Gatsby's he snapped over, "No. No, no, no. No, no, no. This isn't the man, Meyer. This is the friend that I told you about," he said raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, I beg your pardon," Wolfshiem said as Jay looked at his watch looking as if he wanted to get away. "I had the wrong man!" He chuckled.

"Now if you'll excuse me I have to make _that call_." He said looking at Nick, trying to make an excuse to get away to call home. He moved his way through the crowd making polite comments to those he knew on the way towards the telephone.

Knowing he only had a moment until he needed to get back. He impatiently waited for his butler to get his daughter on the wire.

"Hello?" said her high and pure voice, but sad.

Gatsby's face grew concerned, "Hey, little lady. What's wrong?"

"I fell down a few the stairs of the patio," he winced as she continued, "And my wrist hurts real bad. Your mean butler won't help me," he could almost hear her pout through the phone.

"All right, Scar. I'll leave right now; I'll be there in an hour or so. Love you."

"Ok. Love you too, daddy. Bye," she sniffed.

He quickly hung up the phone and went back to his table trying to conceal his worry but Nick saw it.

"Gentleman. Everything all right?" He said trying to speed up the conversation to get out.

"Yes, yes, we… we were just talking about other people's wives," he said nervously. Gatsby narrowed his eyes slightly not believing him. Had he mentioned Scarlett to Wolfshiem?

~*~*~*~*~*~No more than 30 seconds later~*~*~*~*~*~

"Now, old sport, about Miss Baker and that request we spoke of," he said trying to explain the favor quickly and get home, until, he was cut off by Tom Buchanan.

"Nick? Nick! "

"Tom! Funny seeing you," Nick said giving Jay an apologetic look.

"How have you been?"

"Yeah, good!"

"Daisy!" Gatsby tensed when Tom spoke her name, "She's furious that you haven't called!"

Nick tried to dismiss it, "Hey, uh, Mr. Gatsby this is Mr. Buchanan."

Jay forced a smile and stood, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said uncomfortably without meeting his eyes.

Gatsby quickly turned in left, to get home and away from Daisy's husband.

~*~*~*~*~*~ Later that night ~*~*~*~*~*~

"Happy to do it," Nick said with a small smile. "I'm going to call Daisy and invite her to tea."

Jay's eyebrows shot up, "That's all right-"

"What day would suit you?"

"What day would suit _you_?" Gatsby smiled uncertainly, "I don't want to put you in any trouble."

"Day after tomorrow?" He said seriously, "Well… I-I'd want to get the grass cut." He said swiveling around while Nick only saw vines and wood chips.


	8. Chapter 8

~*~*~*~*~*~The next morning before the flowers~*~*~*~*~*~

Jay was sitting at a small booth called their 'breakfast nook', reading the newspaper and drinking plain tea. The sky was gray and cloudy outside with a warm breeze, the bay a dark blue without the sun gleaming on it. The newspaper said it would rain tomorrow until about 4 in the afternoon Scarlett came around the corner rubbing her eyes and sniffing as she sleepily sat down across from him with her head on the table. Turns out she bruised her arms badly, no breaks, but she demanded that it be wrapped.

"Morning, old sport, how's the wrist," he smiled at her tired form.

She sniffed and opened her eyes, "Morning, dad. It's ok, just a bruise now," she said happily though her eyes were red and watery but she hadn't been crying. "I think I'm sick. My nose is all stuffy and my eyes are itchy."

Must be allergies, Scarlett always gets sick when the weather starts to change randomly.

"How about I make you some of my famous hot chocolate?" He asked with a wink. She smiled and nodded.

They went to the large kitchen and got cocoa, sugar, cinnamon, chocolate, milk, two mugs and a medium sized pot.

As they started mixing the ingredients Jay decided he would tell Scarlett about his meeting the next day.

"So I'm going to Mr. Carraway's house around noon tomorrow," he trailed off, and she looked at him waiting for him to continue. "I'm meeting that girl I told you about."

Her face immediately split into a grin, "Really? That's great, daddy! Are you doing something special for when she gets there?"

"Well, no. Not really," he said sheepishly. "Did you have something in mind?"

She scrunched up her small face in thought until she gave a small smirk, "Well, when you give me flowers on my birthday that makes me happy, maybe she would like flowers too."

"Did I tell you her name is the name of a flower? Daisy."

Looking up to the ceiling as if the answers were written there she said, "Hm, maybe you can get white daisies or roses; something like that. I like those flowers, maybe she would like them too," she smiled up at him.

He reached over a ruffled her bed head a bit, "Good idea, little lady," he said with a laugh as she smacked his hand away from her head and set the mugs out to pour the delicious smelling hot chocolate.

~*~*~*~*~*~About 14 calls later to florists, the next morning, Jay and Scar are in his large closet room~*~*~*~*~*~

"How about this?" Jay said with his arms out wide.

He was wearing a dark, navy blue pinstripe suit with a white tie and light blue shirt.

"Ehh, no. Seems to fancy. Why not a brighter color? You could try to match the white flowers!" She exclaimed in excitement. She always helped him choose his clothes for special occasions, and boy was she good at it.

Gatsby laughed, "All right, old sport, a white suit."

"Yes! With the light blue shirt you're wearing now, this," she pulled out a dark yellowy brown vest from a shelf, "and this golden tie! It will make your eyes shine," she said with a smirk.

"Ha! All right, whatever the little lady says," he said with a large smile as he walked away to change, trying desperately to calm his wavering nerves.


	9. Chapter 9

~*~*After flowers are delivered, waiting impatiently for Daisy*~*~

Gatsby stood leaning on his cane with his left hand in his pocket. He looked casual but he was internally trembling.

"You think it's too much?" He asked Nick.

"Uh, I think it's what you want," he said reassuringly.

Jay smiled a bit, "I think so too." There was a clap of thunder outside as he impatiently glanced at the mantel clock every 2 seconds. Sitting down, he willed himself to drown out the insistent ticking beside his ear. It was 3:58, almost 4. "I can't wait all day," he suddenly said, " I'm leaving."

"Oh, don't be silly," Nick said, "It's two minutes to 4."

"No one's coming to tea," he started angrily, "It's too-"

A car horn honked. He froze and turned around with a shuddering breath. Nick went out with his umbrella to get her inside as the rain poured down. Gatsby nervously smoothed his hair back and took short breaths trying to calm himself until it was too much. He left out of the back door, just as Nick saw him heading back to his house.

Nick excused himself to go catch up with Jay before he was to far.

"What are you doing?" he shouted at Gatsby.

He turned around holding up his hands and shouted back, "I can't do it, old sport. I can't see her again, brings up too many memories."

"At least come inside to say hello," Nick said pleadingly. "I'm not going to let you back out of this so quickly; you should at least try. If she talks with you, talk. If it doesn't go well, you may go if you'd like. Just give her a chance, that's all I ask."

Jay stopped and straightened his suit with a short nod and jerkily walked front of the house, around the side where Daisy wouldn't see them.

"Here's how it'll work, old sport, I'm going to go in as if I hadn't known she would be here and…" he trailed off in thought. "I can't believe I'm saying this after all the trouble I put you and Miss Baker through but I don't feel the need to have her. She has her own life. Yes, I love her, but I can't convince myself that she never loved her husband."

"Not to mention her own daughter, Pammy." Nick added.

Jay's eyes widened to the size of saucers, "She has a daughter? How old is she?" he demanded breathlessly.

"I haven't really met her but I think she's around 4 years old."

"Close to Scar's age," he said thoughtfully. "I'll start with that." He said as he walked with his confident, bobbing stride to the front door, not stopping until he was looking at Daisy.

Daisy was looking at the hanging flowerpot with she saw his reflection in the window.

She snapped her head back with a quiet gasp and looked at him. And he just smiled at her.

"I'm certainly glad to see you again," he said with a kind smile and a warm tone that made her furrow her brows.

A bit confused she replied, "I'm certainly glad to see you as well, Mr. Gatsby." She said as her expression melted to mirror his smile.


	10. Chapter 10

~*~*Near the end of their visit at Nick's, let's pretend Daisy cares for her daughter and is actually nice, because I don't like her~*~*~*~

Jay was sitting in an armchair and Daisy sat on the couch next to him holding her tea, talking animatedly about her daughter, Pammy.

"I just love buying clothes for her, she looks like an absolute princess in her sparkling dresses," she said with a laugh.

Gatsby chuckled shaking his head, "Sounds like a little someone I know too,"

Daisy titled head and put down her tea, "Who? If you don't mind my asking," she said sheepishly.

"Oh, uh," he cleared his throat, "I, uh, have a daughter as well. She is 5 years old."

Daisy didn't even try to conceal her surprise, "You do? Oh, my goodness! What's her name?" she exclaimed leaning forward on her knees.

He smiled largely at her, "Scarlett, but she prefers Scar. And the way you talked about your Pammy, you could have easily been talking about my Scar."

She smiled and lifted her hands up slightly looking around dramatically, "Well, where is the little darling?"

"Oh, she's at home. She's not feeling too well; the weather changing causes her to develop allergies."

"I certainly hope she's not home alone!"

"Oh, no! I wouldn't do that to her. Anyway, if anything should happen I'll be right here; doesn't take long to run over." He said trying to comfort her.

Looking quizzically at him she said, " 'Doesn't take long to run over'? You mean you live close by?"

"Yes, just next door actually." He said pointing her thumb over his shoulder.

She twisted the ruffles on her dress and hesitantly asked, "Can we go over? I'd love to see your home," she said while quirking small smile.

Gatsby smirked, "Sure thing, Miss Daisy," he said, using his old nickname for her.

~* ~*~*~ I'd love to say they're not flirting but I wanted to start them out as friends instead. The 3 of them are now on Gatsby's dock~*~*~*~*~*~

Scarlett leaned her head on the concrete banister of the beach patio as she watched her father, Nick, and the mystery girl Daisy. Turning towards the house she wondered what they were talking about. _Daddy will introduce me when he's ready, _she thought.

She wandered off to the piano room to practice piano, even though she wasn't taking lessons she was learning from a book she found in the library. Taking her seat at the bench, she opened the cover over the keys and began to play a quiet tune with her right hand and hummed along while kicking her feet in the air far from the ground.

She didn't hear the door open behind her.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews/follows/faves! It means a lot :) I'm getting super busy with exams coming up so I won't have the chance to update as much :/ But if you have suggestions for the plot I would love to hear them!

~*~*~*~*~*~ Jay, Daisy, and Nick are now wandering through the house ~*~*~*~*~*~

"I love it," she said dreamily, twirling around in the ballroom. They had just returned from the beach where they drank and golfed from the dock. Daisy drank the freshly squeezed orange from the kitchen from a crystal cup as she walked along the windows, enjoying the view. She gave a small, happy sigh as she turned to face Jay. "Now where is that little girl I've been hearing to much about?" She said with a quirked eyebrow.

"She's still a bit drowsy from the weather change, but she should be better in the next few days."

Daisy's face softened, "Oh, well, if she's willing, I'd still really love to meet her." She said hopefully.

Gatsby smiled and nodded, "Wait right here, I'll go find her," and he set out in the direction of her staircase.

"Mr. Gatsby, sir," a servant spoke up, "Miss Scarlett is not in her room, she went towards the South wing just a half hour ago."

"Thank you, old sport," he glanced at Daisy and Nick with a grin, "C'mon, best not keep her waiting." And they strode off towards the South wing.

Approaching the piano room, the trio heard the faint sound of a piano playing. Gatsby put his back to the door, facing Daisy and her cousin.

"I will go see if she's feeling all right first, I'll come get you in a minute," he said in a hushed tone and turned the door handle and slipped through so Daisy couldn't see inside just yet.


	12. Chapter 12

*~* A/N Just a heads up, I most likely won't update for a few weeks because not only are exams coming up but a close friend of mine just passed away from a rare cancer last week. She was only 16. So I apologize for not updating as much as you and I want but everything has become very stressful recently so I thank you for your patience.

Scarlett's fingers froze as she heard the door to her right open and close quietly. She looked over and saw her father giving her a small grin. She smiled back and spun towards him atop the piano bench, her legs crisscrossed.

"You're back already? I would have thought you'd be gone for the whole day," she paused for a moment as if trying to choose her words carefully, "Did…did something go wrong? Did she not want to see you?"

Jay went around the other side of the bench and sat down next to her as she turned to face the grand piano again.

"Quite the opposite, Scar. She was delighted to see me again, and I, her."

Tilting her head slightly she asked, "Well, where is she now? Did she go home?"

"She's actually just outside that door, little lady," he chuckled at her wide eyes as they stared at the door he'd previously come from. "She is hoping to meet you but I thought I would check up on you to see if you were feeling well enough to sped some time with us."

Sitting on her knees she put her hands on his shoulders, shaking him slightly, "Yes! Is that a serious question? I would love to meet her! Is Nicky here too?" she asked excitedly.

Gatsby smiled widely at her eagerness, "You bet, sweetheart. But we shouldn't keep them waiting much longer, I don't know when Daisy has to return home."

She slipped off the bench and patted and combed her hair through with her fingers, "How do I look?" Her wavy blonde hair was knotted into a side braid with a few strands falling out. She wore a white dress with a rosy pink band around her waist, yet she was barefoot and her nose was slightly red.

"Like a princess as always, sweetheart." He said with a wink standing with his hand held out for her to take.

As they opened the door Scarlett saw that the woman had her back to them and she could see Nick talking quietly with her. He saw her and smiled as she stepped through the door as Daisy turned her head towards Jay and Scarlett. Scarlett and Daisy just looked at each other for and moment, before Scarlett stepped forward letting go of Gatsby's hand and holding it out to Daisy.

"Hello, Daisy, I'm Scarlett! But you can call me Scar if you'd like, Dad and Nicky do too," she said animatedly.

Daisy smiled and took her hand, "Pleasure to meet you. I've heard so much about you, I feel as if I already know you."

Scarlett blushed slightly, "I'm afraid I don't know much about you, but I'd like to!" she turned to Gatsby.

He smiled slightly and said, "Think you'd want to play a bit of piano for Daisy?" She shook her head quickly from side to side. "Why not?"

"I only just started it, it's not anywhere near being ready! Plus," she scrunched up her nose, "I can't even reach the pedals."

Daisy laughed softly, "Well maybe another time then," she said with a wink.


	13. Chapter 13

**They didn't do the whole closet scene because with my story it was kind of unnecessary and didn't fit well… so yeah, skipping to the whole dancing scene and such. Thanks for reading!**

Nick and Scarlett were sitting on the mound of pillows drinking their orange juice from their royalty glasses, as Scarlett called them, chatting quietly as it was way past her bed time. Daisy and Jay were dancing slowly farther away, not speaking but swaying in comfortable silence. Gatsby's eyes occasionally flicked over to Scarlett who had finally fallen asleep not a moment earlier. He caught Nick's eyes and nodded to his daughter. Nick nodded in understanding, gently picked up the small girl and left the room to bring her to her room.

Jay returned his attention back to Daisy who had her head resting on his shoulder. She slowly met his gaze and said, "I wish I'd done everything on earth with you. All my life. I wish it could always be like this."

He gave her a slight, sad smile and murmured, "A lot has happened over five years Daisy," she hummed in agreement, "You have Tom and Pammy, I have Scarlett."

She was quiet for a moment before she gave him a cheeky smile and teased, "Oh, you're going to be such a protective father when she's older, she will never get to be with any boys."

"Not while I'm alive," he said trying to keep a straight face but failing as a small smile broke through. Sobering up he added, "I'm not sure if you were aware but I do keep Scarlett on a tight leash when it comes to the press. I just want your word that you won't speak of her outside of these grounds," he said seriously looking to her straight.

Her gaze softened and she nodded understanding that it was best for his daughter.

"She has had a private tutor since she reached schooling age," he continued, "but I fear that growing up with just me will affect her greatly in the long run. She's been asking and asking to go to the primary school in town. I want her to be surrounded by extraordinary people and while private tutoring _is _ideal at the moment it won't be when she's a teenager."

"Oh, don't even mention the teenage years! I dread the day when Pammy puts up a fit about her 'freedom'. I'd guess my sanity will be long gone by then," she joked.

Jay smirked, "I as much as you. But she does look after herself well enough considering her age. To be honest, I was afraid to even hold her when she first arrived. Not only had I never held a baby, I was still in shock. My life had flipped from carefree to the responsibility of someone else's life other than my own," he drew in a shaky breath, "I was terrified I would muck it up."

Daisy sighed removing her arms from his shoulders, "You seem to be doing a fine job, Jay. She's a such a sweet girl," she said putting a comforting hand on his shoulder before walking over to a bench to gather up her belongings.

Gatsby stood in place and put his hands into his pockets as Daisy turned back to him. After a moment he said, "You know, I won't deny that some part of me still loves you." Daisy's smile faded slightly and she shifted her gaze slightly. "But, I can't say it's the same as it was five years ago. It's just been a long time, Daisy, and I hope you understand that while I still love you it's not the same."

She gave him a watery smile, "I understand, Jay." She hooked her arm with his and slowly walked in the direction of the front door. "It feels the same for me in a way. I do love Tom, of course. He's my _husband_. And while he can be a bit grumpy and a little overwhelming I still love him. And I love you, as well, but you're right. It's not the same." She paused and turned to him, "What we have feels like a lost love even though we've found each other again. But I can't see it going beyond what we felt then and how we feel now. We're stuck somewhere in the middle of wanting more but we both know it we couldn't go that far. I'm sorry if you feel differently, Jay, but it's true. Things _have_ changed in the last five years."

Gatsby gave her a small smile and kissed her cheek silently saying _I understand_.

PLEASE FAVOURITE/FOLLOW/REVIEW!

A/N: I'm really sorry I haven't written more. I've had a LOT of family emergencies this summer. The upcoming school year will be very stressful for me so I can't promise any specific times as to when I can upload another chapter. I kept this one tucked away for when I really needed to update.  
Also, feel free to private message me with any plot ideas! The story is going in the direction I had hoped but I'm worried that I won't be able to end it well, but I also don't want to just cut it off... So, yeah! I'd love to hear your thoughts :)


End file.
